Player Alliance involves court system, claims Emperor Saskatine took leadership through deception.

Can’t say I’m really surprised. The way I see it, there are separate issues at work, and Chelios and his buddies (including Dwayne Roloson, who can’t even spell the word “communism” much less explain it) are trying to roll them all up into one neat little package.

Item number one: The Election of Ted Saskin.

This is an interesting one, and the main reason for the rebellion in the first place–Saskin’s election reeks of….oh, what’s the word I’m thinking of here?  Convenience, I guess. It was just a little too pat, a little too quick, a little too simple for the liking of Trent Klatt and a few like-minded players (and, to be honest, for my liking as well). I can understand that, but then I’ve hated that oily little wankstain Saskin ever since his dismissive and patronizing “fans don’t understand what this is all about” comment during the 2004 ASG. The hell I didn’t understand what it was all about, you assclown.

Anyway–the pertinent issue regarding this item is simple: Saskin’s election wasn’t done through proper channels. There was no formal nomination, there was no actual election–just a quick and dirty conference call. So yeah, I can understand people crying foul. I didn’t like Goodenow at all (especially because of his association with accused paedophile (and known dirtbag) David Frost), but getting rid of a scuzzwipe like him was something that had to be done the right way. Avoiding the slightest hint of impropriety in 2005 would have spared a lot of grief down the line.
But then we have Item number two, which was deftly rolled into the suit: The salary cap.

Ah yes, the salary cap. The owners’ attempt to save themselves from themselves–and a lot of good it did ‘em, too. Now, Chelios and a handful of other players managed to intimidate the union’s membership into rejecting a salary cap–and it worked for a while, too. But eventually, the rank-and-file guys–the Jesse Boulerices and Eric Boultons and Randy Robitailles that don’t make $texas/season–told the Bully Brigade where to go and what to do when they got there, and they accepted the salary cap. It’s all pretty well-documented; the guys that make up the bulk of the membership said “you know what?  This bulldada has gone on long enough” and they ended it after two days of meetings in Toronto during which Chelios and several of the big fish tried unsuccessfully to cajole, exhort, threaten, entice, and otherwise persuade the small fish to reject the salary cap and keep the flames of Ragnarok burning.

It’s not hard to figure out that the Bully Brigade has decided to enter into a convenient partnership with Trent Klatt and those players who are genuinely upset over the chicanery that was Saskin’s election–don’t be surprised if this suit winds up exploding into a flagrant attempt to get the CBA rejected, with the idea of Saskin’s removal becoming an afterthought.

Bad Craziness, soon come.